The present invention relates generally to a disposable article suitable to handle body waste such as feces and urine.
There have already been proposed body waste handling articles each comprising a panel formed by a wrapping body fluid absorbent material such as fluff pulp with a liquid-pervious sheet, a leak-barrier peripheral wall provided along a peripheral edge of the panel so as to define a space for receiving body waste, an opening communicating with the space provided in the leak-barrier peripheral wall and elastic members attached in a stretched state to the leak-barrier peripheral wall so as to surround the opening.
For example, in a disposable body fluid handling article disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-42033 (hereinafter referred to as “Reference 1”), a body fluid absorbent structure comprising a liquid-pervious topsheet, a liquid-impervious backsheet and a liquid-absorbent core sandwiched between these two sheets is provided along a peripheral edge thereof with a leak-barrier cover sheet so as to cover the body fluid absorbent structure from above so that the body fluid absorbent structure cooperates with the cover sheet to for a space for receiving body waste. The cover sheet defines an opening allowing body waste to flow into the space and the opening is provided along its peripheral edge with elastic member attached in a stretched state thereto.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 3510150 (hereinafter referred to as “Reference 2”) discloses a disposable body waste handling article. The body waste handling article disclosed therein comprises a rectangular body fluid absorbent panel and strip-like leak-barrier sheets serving as leak-barrier walls provided along four sides of the rectangular body fluid absorbent panel, respectively, so that the panel cooperates with these leak-barrier walls to define a space receiving body waste. These leak-barrier walls define also an opening communicating with the space. The leak-barrier walls are provided along a peripheral edge of the opening with elastic members.
National Publication of Translated Version No. 2001-513669 (hereinafter referred to as “Reference 3”) discloses an absorbent article such as a diaper or an incontinence guard. In this absorbent article, absorbent material is sandwiched between a liquid-pervious sheet and a liquid-impervious sheet to form a panel-shaped article. In the panel-shaped article, the liquid-pervious sheet is covered with a topsheet formed with an oval opening. Between these liquid-pervious sheet and the topsheet, a space for receiving body waste is defined so that body waste the may flow through the opening of the topsheet into the space. The topsheet is provided along a peripheral edge of the opening with an elastic member.
In the case of the body waste handling article disclosed in Reference 1, the trapezoidal or rectangular panel comprising the topsheet, the backsheet and the core sandwiched between these two sheets must be folded back in two along a center line bisecting a width of the panel and then the peripheral edge must be put flat and bonded together. A process for making this body waste handling article thus includes an additional step of folding the panel back onto itself and bonding the peripheral edge to itself. Such process is disadvantageously complex.
For the body waste handling article disclosed in Reference 2, the strip-like leak-barrier sheets prepared separately of the panel must be attached to the respective sides of the rectangular panel and, in addition, these leak-barrier sheets must be previously provided with the elastic members attached in a stretched state thereto. The construction of the body waste handling article is complicated and the number of parts is correspondingly increased, leading to a cost of manufacturing increased.
The absorbent article disclosed in Reference 3 requires the topsheet, the material to be prepared separately of the panel-shaped article and a cost of manufacturing is correspondingly increased.